Miniaturization of assays in analytical biochemistry is a direct result of the need to collect maximum data from a sample of a limited volume. This miniaturization, in turn, requires methods of rapid and automatic dispensing and manipulation of small volumes of liquids (solvents, reagents, samples etc.) The two methods currently employed for such manipulation are, 1) ink jetting and 2) electromigration methods in capillary channels: electroosmosis, electrophoresis and/or combination thereof. Both methods suffer poor reproducibility.
Ink jetting is based on dispensing droplets of liquid through a nozzle. Droplet expulsion from the nozzle is effected by a pressure pulse in the reservoir connected to the nozzle. The pressure pulse itself is effected by an electric signal. The droplets are subsequently deposited on a solid surface opposing the nozzle. The relative position of the nozzle and the surface is controlled by a mechanical device, resulting in deposition of droplets in a desired pattern. Removal of the droplets is typically effected by either washing or spinning (centrifugal forces).
While ink jetting is a dispensing method generally applicable to a wide variety of liquids, the volume of the deposited droplets is not very stable. It depends on both the nature of the liquid being deposited (viscosity, density, vapor pressure, surface tension) and the environment in the gap between the surface and the nozzle (temperature, humidity). Ink jetting technology does not provide means to manipulate droplets after they have been deposited on the surface, except for removing them.
Electromigration methods are based on mobility of ions in liquids when electric current is passed through the liquids. Because different ions have different mobilities in the electric field, the composition of liquid being manipulated generally changes as it is being transported. While this feature of electromigration methods is useful for analytical purposes, because it allows physical separation of components of mixtures, it is undesirable in general micromanipulation techniques.
Additionally, the need to pass electrical current through the liquid results in heating of the liquid, which may cause undesirable chemical reactions or even boiling. To avoid this, the electrical conductivities of all liquids in the system are kept low, limiting the applicability of electromigration methods.
The need to pass electrical current through the liquid also requires that the control electrodes be electrically connected through an uninterrupted body of conductive liquid. This requirement additionally complicates precision dispensing and results in ineffective use of reagents, because the metered doses of a liquid are isolated from a continuous flow of that liquid from one electrode to another.
Additionally, ions present in the liquid alter the electric field in that liquid. Therefore, changes in ionic composition in the liquid being manipulated result in variations in resultant distribution of flow and material for the same sequence of control electrical signals.
Finally, the devices for carrying out the electromigration methods have connected channels (capillaries), which are used to define liquid flow paths in the device. Because the sizes of these capillaries and connections among them are optimized for certain types of manipulations, and also for certain types of liquids, these devices are very specialized.